This Week’s Highlights at Third Eye Comics for Wednesday 1/12/11

NICK SPENCER, writer of MORNING GLORIES, debuts his next big IMAGE COMICS hit series with INFINITE VACATION #1 this WEDNESDAY

Welcome to Infinite Vacation, Where Changing Your Life Is Just One Click Away

If there’s been one writer who’s really broke out and surprised us in 2010 here at Third Eye, it’s Nick Spencer. He caught our attention first with Forgetless, and then he blew us, and the rest of the comics industry away with his runaway hit MORNING GLORIES. And now, Mr. Spencer, is going to set the shelves of Third Eye on fire all over again with his killer new IMAGE series, INFINITE VACATION, which we can already go on record as saying is awesome.

And, as a word of advice, just like MORNING GLORIES, we’d recommend jumping on with this one early with issue #1, and snagging a copy this week, as we all know how low Image’s print runs are, and how their books usually tend up being a bit pricey once the first prints are gone.

What is INFINITE VACATION? Infinite Vacation is the story of a young man named Mark, who lives in a world where alternate realities are up for sale, and buying and trading your way through unlimited variations of yourself is as commonplace as checking your email or updating your Facebook status.

But, when other versions of Mark start dying suddenly, and he stumbles upon a mysterious girl who wants nothing to do with his “life-changing”, he learns the truth about the universe he’s stumbling through, and what happens when your vacation turns on you.

Basically, it’s a mix of something like FIGHT CLUB, and trippy sci-fi in the vein of BLADE RUNNER. People trading their regular identities for the escapist fantasy identities they wish they had. In the world of INFINITE VACATION, you can be the hero action star that busts the serial murderer. You can be the Tony Soprano, the Don Draper, or the Bruce Wayne, of your choice. Of course, it’s important to keep your name tag on, because if you don’t you could end up living out a nightmare instead of a fantasy. The name tag is how they know you, where you’re from, and where you belong. Your credit rating, and disposable income are all that stand between you being the hero, and being the villain.

I’m sorry, folks, but this sounds awesome. I read an extended preview of the first issue, and the art is great, and the story reads well. If you’re a fan of Spencer’s previous work on stuff like MORNING GLORIES, FORGETLESS and THUNDER AGENTS, you’re going to love INFINITE VACATION.

Check out issue #1 this Wednesday at here at Third Eye, and find out what we’re so jazzed about.

Dude, I was totally blown away by the new BLACK PANTHER series that began last month in BLACK PANTHER MAN WITHOUT FEAR #513 (still in stock and available here at Third Eye). REALLY good stuff. Liss writes the character perfectly, and the new setting of Hell’s Kitchen (post-Shadowland) really sets up for some interesting story potential for T’Challa. But the real star on this one, folks, is Francesco Francavilla, who’s artwork brings a moody, atmospheric pulp fiction noir feel to the world of Hell’s Kitchen and the Black Panther. I think he might be one of my favorite new artists to spring onto the scene this year. Between his work here on Black Panther, and then his work on the Jim Gordon back-up in DETECTIVE COMICS, he’s really showing potential as an artist who’s set to explode in popularity.

The first issue of BLACK PANTHER MAN WITHOUT FEAR took T’Challa back to basics, no kingdom, no extensive technology, just him and his fists, breaking the faces of Hell’s Kitchen bad guys, and showing everyone that just because ol’ Daredevil is gone, doesn’t mean Hell’s Kitchen has been left unprotected. The book has a very strong crime noir feel to it, and we really like that. The characterization of T’Challa is spot on, and this is the most badass we’ve seen the Black Panther in a while.

As the second issues continues the run this week, we see that T’Challa has his hands full, between battling the mob, and stopping a serial killer on the prowl, he’s being brought face to face with the ruthless new crime lord of Hell’s Kitchen by the name of Vlad the Impaler.

Missed the first issue? We’ve still got copies of BLACK PANTHER MAN WITHOUT FEAR #513 available to get you caught up to this week’s BLACK PANTHER MAN WITHOUT FEAR #514.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #19 *BATMAN INC TIE-IN*- PAUL CORNELL CONCLUDES HIS FIRST STORY ARC, AND MAKES WAY FOR THE SUPERSTAR CREATIVE TEAM OF PETER J. TOMASI & PATRICK GLEASON

We’ve been really impressed with how well Paul Cornell (writer of the killer ACTION COMICS run going on now, as well as writer of many kick-ass DR. WHO episodes) and Scott McDaniel have done maintaining the same level of quality on BATMAN AND ROBIN that Morrison and co. had set the bar for. And, while we’re sad to see their 3-part story arc involving THE ABSENCE come to it’s conclusion, we’re pretty pumped for the creative team of Tomasi and Gleason who’re set to come onto BATMAN AND ROBIN following this issue. Tomasi has written on some killer titles like BRIGHTEST DAY, BLACKEST NIGHT, and GREEN LANTERN CORPS, so we’re pumped to see what he brings to the book. And, Gleason’s art has been wowing us for a while on GREEN LANTERN CORPS, so we’re stoked about him joining as well. Plus, those two work really well together as a team.

Anyways, this Wednesday wraps up the ABSENCE story arc, and continues the ongoing BATMAN INCORPORATED storyline that’s running through the Bat-Books.

If you’re not already a BATMAN AND ROBIN reader, we highly recommend the series. It’s been one of our favorites for nearly two years now, and continues to deliver month after month. We’ve still got limited quantities of all the early back issues in stock and available to get you caught up, so pop on by the shop and start with issue #1, and find out why this series is one of the best Bat books you’re not reading.

SPAWN HITS A MAJOR LANDMARK, KICKS OFF A NEW STORY WITH A GREAT JUMPING ON POINT, AND DELIVERS A DOUBLE-SIZED ISSUE PACKED WITH TALENT, FEATURING THE WRITING OF “WALKING DEAD” writer ROBERT KIRKMAN, THE ART OF TODD MCFARLANE and MORE.

I think that there’s A LOT of us who’ve grown up reading SPAWN. And, I think for many of us, we might have fond memories of the character, and how fresh the book once was, but it’s been a while since the title has really grabbed us.

Well, that changes this Wednesday with SPAWN #200, a giant-sized, landmark issue that features an all-star cast of talent, and serves as the perfect spot to jump onto SPAWN and prepare for a whole new era of awesomeness for Al Simmons, and the rest of the Spawn universe.

The series serves as a conclusion of the saga of Al Simmons, sets the landscape for a new Spawn, and brings all the classics to the spotlight. The Clown / Violator, Malebolgia, and even God himself are going to be present at this one.

And, the list of talent that’s working on this issue is insane! The ongoing creative team after 200 looks solid, and it’s great to see McFarlane back on the book, but with 200, it’s also got a lot of talent on board, with McFarlane returning to art, Greg Capullo also bringing some art, and then superstars like Silvestri, Jim Lee, David Finch, and Rob Liefeld doing covers for the book.

And, here’s the part we’re really pumped about, WALKING DEAD, HAUNT & INVINCIBLE writer ROBERT KIRKMAN will be having a hand in writing some of the issue as well. This is going to be kick-ass.

So, yeah, if it’s been a long time since you’ve read SPAWN, give #200 a look this week. It’s a perfect spot to jump on, and reintroduces many classic characters while also setting up a lot of new directions for the series.

We’ve been loving the new direction of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN that began with AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #648. BIG TIME has delivered… well.. BIG TIME.. and Dan Slott, being on board, as the permanent writer of the series, really instills a lot of faith and confidence in us for the book. It’s been a long time since Spidey was this good, and we’re pumped to see the title is back to how it should be. I mean, it FEELS like a Spider-man comic again, and we couldn’t be more stoked.

The current arc that’s been running through the book since #648 has been the debut of a new HOBGOBLIN, his quest to kill Spidey, and of course, the adoption of Spidey’s new costume. It’s a pretty straight-forward story, but I think that’s why it reads so well. When you have a character like Spidey, you just want to have a fun, straight-forward, bigger-than-life superhero read that brings some snappy writing and kick-ass art together to make for a good book.

Give AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #651 a look this Wednesday, and find out why we’re so jazzed about the series. Plus, it’s got Caselli doing the artwork, and if you’ve seen his stuff on SECRET WARRIORS, you know how good this guy is. Now, imagine him on Spidey!

GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD WARRIORS #6 – THE WAR BETWEEN THE RED LANTERNS and the GREEN LANTERNS BREWS AS GUY’S BLOOD PACT WITH ATROCITUS IS EXPOSED
*THIRD EYE BEST OF 2010*

We’ve been loving GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD WARRIORS, as it’s been giving focus to a lot of Green Lantern characters that we’ve been really wanting to see more of, like GUY GARDNER, and KILOWOG. It’s kind of like a Green Lantern Corps All-Stars team, and the writing and art on this one has been top notch since issue #1.

But, the real draw for us has been the big Red Lantern storyline that’s been going down in the pages of GREEN LANTERN EMERALD WARRIORS. The Red Lanterns are some of our favorites, and Tomasi has been handling the development of them, and their corps really well in the pages of EMERALD WARRIORS.

Now, after the secret pact that Gardner, Atrocitus and Ganthet made was revealed last month, we’re going forward into seeing if his comrades will remain at his side now that it’s revealed, or will Zardor’s recruits grow in rank against the Emerald Warrior? And, of course, Sodam Yat is caught in the middle of the whole mess.

Plus, Red Lantern Bleez finds out why she’s so important to the grand plan that Zardor’s got brewing.

If you’re looking for a kick-ass GL book to follow in addition to the main series, then we highly recommend Emerald Warriors. We’ve got copies of 1-5 still in stock to catch you up to #6, so give it a read and find out why this is one of our favorites every month.

CASANOVA: GULA #1 KICKS OFF MATT FRACTION’S NEW SERIES THAT DELIVERS THE MOST PSYCHADELIC, OVER-THE-TOP SCI-FI SUPERSPY AWESOME YOU’LL EVER READ
Also, the CASANOVA: LUXURIA Trade Paperback arrives this week collecting the first series of Fraction’s Super-Spy Madman

We are huge fans of Matt Fraction’s CASANOVA here at Third Eye, and we’re so stoked to see a brand new CASANOVA series kicking off this Wednesday with CASANOVA: GULA #1.

Also, dropping this week is the trade paperback, CASANOVA: LUXURIA, which collects the original CASANOVA series in it’s entirety.

Now, onto the important part: WHAT IS CASANOVA? Casanova is one of the best comics you’ve never read. It’s the story of a dimension-hopping, bad-ass super-spy that conjures up images of every late ’60s Italian super-spy thriller you’ve ever seen, mixed with the craziness of Jim Steranko’s old Nick Fury comics, and channeled into a space-age, 21st century package of comic awesomeness by the very talented MATT FRACTION (writer of such comic awesomeness as FIVE FISTS OF SCIENCE and INVINCIBLE IRON MAN, as well as the upcoming Marvel mega-event FEAR ITSELF).

Casanova is the story of Casanova Quinn, and he is the definition of suepr-spy. The series is illustrated by Gabriel Ba, of Daytripper fame, and it’s as much Ba’s unique artwork as it is Fraction’s storytelling that brings the world of CASANOVA to life. The stories of Casanova Quinn blend spy capers, science fiction, and swinging man about town James Bond craziness into one crazy awesome read. Imagine if you took Phil Spector’s wall of sound concept and translated that to comics, and that sums up CASANOVA nicely. It’s just non-stop, high-energy, serial storytelling awesomeness. It’s the kind of thrill ride that engages your brain as muc has it does your gut. Manic ideas thrown densely at the page, and expressed through the detailed, atmospheric art.

Casanova Quinn is a freelance superspy. His daddy runs EMPIRE, the international task force of Good Guys, and his sister is an equally talented agent who works for the Other Side. Casanova’s missions take him all over the place, and include everything from kidnapping sex-crazed blonde robots, to graverobbing and high-stakes gambling.

CASANOVA GULA is the next installment of Casanova Quinn’s adventures, and we couldn’t be more pumped to see where things are heading next.

If you wanna catch up on the earlier stuff, you can snag the gorgeous trade paperback collection that includes all the extras from the comics as well, with the release of this Wednesday’s CASANOVA LUXURIA trade paperback.

In the aftermath of SHADOWLAND, the once-proud legacy of Daredevil has been left in tatters. Now, far, far away from the mean streets of Hell’s Kitchen, a new evil is rising, and this could be the Man Without Fear’s last chance at redemption.

After the conclusion of SHADOWLAND, Andy Diggle (writer of DAREDEVIL and SHADOWLAND) begins to rebuild the saga and legacy of Daredevil with this new limited series that shows us just what Matt Murdock’s place in the Marvel Universe post-SHADOWLAND is.

One of our favorite new series of 2010 was Oni Press’s SIXTH GUN. This one kind of crept by as a sleeper, as Oni’s big hit of the year was by far, SCOTT PILGRIM, but we gotta tell you, folks, SIXTH GUN is fantastic.

This is the perfect genre mash-up, as they take horror, supernatural thriller, and mix it seamlessly with the Steampunk and Western genres, and it all comes out as a really satisfying read. Undead Civil War soldiers, Pinkerton Agency detectives, cursed six-shooters, and more make for a compelling read.

What’s the scoop on the story? During the darkest days of the Civil War, wicked cutthroat outlaws came into possession of six pistols of otherworldly power. In time, the Sixth Gun, the most dangerous of the weapons, vanished.

Now, the gun has surfaced in the hands of an innocent girl, and this causes some seriously dark forces to awaken. We’re talking some seriously vile dudes who’ve been long thought dead set their sights on retrieving the gun, and killing the girl. And only Drake Sinclair, a gunfighter with a shadowy past, stands in their way.

If you’re a fan of stuff that has a strong steampunk feel to it, or of the Weird West genre in general, you should really check out SIXTH GUN. We also feel that those of you who dig stuff like ATOMIC ROBO, FIVE FISTS OF SCIENCE, and HELLBOY will dig Sixth Gun as well.

The first trade paperback hits this week, and collects the first seven issues of the series. We’ve also got all the back issues available individually, for those of you who prefer to collect ’em that way too.

BATMAN: JOKER’S ASYLUM VOLUME 2 TRADE PAPERBACK – Collecting FIVE dark stories narrated by the Joker featuring some of Batman’s deadliest Rogues
We loved the first round of JOKER’S ASYLUM one-shots from a couple of years ago, so it’s only fair that we give some props to the latest round of one-shots now being collected into trade paperback.

This trade collects all five of the one-shot stories, each one narrated by the Joker himself, that focus on the dark, and twisted minds and motives of Batman’s craziest Rogues. Ranging from Harley Quinn and Killer Croc to Clayface and Mad Hatter, each one of these had a very distinct style, and feel, and the writers involved did a fantastic job of weaving these one-shots together effortlessly.

For those of you who missed the first round, we’ve also got the JOKER’S ASYLUM vol.1 TRADE PAPERBACK in stock to get you a double-dose of Joker awesomeness.

One of the biggest surprises coming out of SHADOWLAND is the awesomeness that is the new HEROES FOR HIRE series. We had high hopes for this one, and folks, Abnett and Lanning delivered in a major way. Why were we skeptical when we first heard of a HEROES FOR HIRE relaunch? Well, HEROES FOR HIRE, as a series, has had many failed attempts at new series starting, and while there’s been some really great runs on the HEROES FOR HIRE (the ’70s stuff, and then the late ’90s run both stick out), the book just hasn’t seen a tremendous amount of success.

Until now! Abnett and Lanning do for HEROES FOR HIRE and the street-level Marvel Universe characters what they did with the cosmic characters in series like GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, THANOS IMPERATIVE, and REALM OF KINGS. They breathe fresh new life into the world of characters like Moon Knight, Silver Sable, Ghost Rider, The Falcon, and more.

The first issue does a fantastic job of setting up the series, as it casts Misty Knight as kind of a ORACLE-like figure, who coordinates various vigilantes who’d normally only operate alone, in a manner so that they’re working together to accomplish missions to take down the criminal underworld of the Marvel Universe. The pacing, and action in the first issue was great, and we tore through it while reading it. The characterization was dead on, and they even end things with a really killer cliffhanger. The book feels very much like BIRDS OF PREY in the Marvel Universe, but with Abnett, Lanning and artist Walker injecting enough personality and style into it to keep things lively and make the book stand out on it’s own. One of our favorite aspects is how Misty tailors her payment to each individual who’s hired on.

As for the art, Walker is at his best here, and we’re really digging his style. He’s really progressing, and his layouts are cinematic as all get-out.

We’re stoked to see issue #2 hitting this week. Missed #1? We’ve still got copies available to get you caught up.

HACK/SLASH ME WITHOUT YOU ONE-SHOT – THE FOLLOW-UP TO LAST YEAR’S “MY FIRST MANIAC” EXPLORES THE SECRET ORIGIN OF CASSIE HACK’S SIDEKICK, VLAD!

We’re big fans of HACK/SLASH here at Third Eye, maybe it’s got something to do with our love of gratuitous violence and B-Grade horror movies, or maybe it’s just ’cause Tim Seeley knows how to write a damn fine comic, but HACK/SLASH is total win here at Third Eye.

So, whenever a new HACK/SLASH one-shot hits, we get stoked, and with this Wednesday’s HACK/SLASH ME WITHOUT YOU, we’re pumped to see that Seeley’s going to be telling the enigmatic origin of Cassie’s hulking, silent side-kick, VLAD. See, before Vlad roamed the country with Cassie Hack, he haunted the alleyways of Chicago as a living urban legend known only as the Meat Man. Of course, Vlad’s a misunderstood monster, and is nothing like the other Slashers Cassie’d encountered previously… and this one-shot’ll show us why!

IMAGE COMICS’S HALCYON CONTINUES THIS WEDNESDAY WITH HALCYON #3, EXPLORING THE CONCEPT OF A WORLD OF SUPERHEROES WITHOUT SUPER-VILLAINS. A MUST FOR FANS OF IRREDEEMABLE

We’ve been really impressed by this new Image series, HALCYON, which takes a very interesting look at the world of superhumans, and poses the question: what happens when all of the super-villains are defeated and gone? What do the world’s greatest heroes do then?

As we saw in the first issue, the last of the world’s super-villains surrenders, and the world is left without any real villains or problems. A utopia has been born. And, now, the heroes of the Earth must adapt to this new world. What happens when there’s no crime to fight? The only hero who has something to do is the speedster, because he’s the only one fast enough to solve natural disasters when they occur. The rest of the heroes? They struggle with feelings of being obsolete.

Of course, it isn’t all peaches and cream, as the Batman analogue, Sabre, investigates what’s causing the lack of violence, and becomes obsessed with this utopia not being what it seems to be. He’s a very Rorschach-esque character.

All in all, we’re digging it so far, and we’d recommend checking this one out if you’re a fan of series like IRREDEEMABLE and INCORRUPTIBLE. We’ve got copies of both #1 and #2 in stock to catch you up to this week’s #3, so jump on if you haven’t already.

THIRD EYE STAFF PICKS

Steve – SUPERBOY #3 – Jeff Lemire and Pier Gallo knock it out of the park again. I am really impressed with this new SUPERBOY title. I’ve never even been that big of a Connor Kent fan (excluding his appearances in Geoff Johns’s TEEN TITANS run), but man, this is good stuff.

Trish – WALKING DEAD #80 – Are you surprised?

TORMA – BATMAN BEYOND #1 – I am one of the biggest BATMAN BEYOND fans you could meet, but even more so, I LOVE alternate future stories, and BATMAN BEYOND is delivering the coolest alternate future story since KINGDOM COME. Even if you don’t like the BATMAN BEYOND cartoon, you should still try this, it’s really good.